Meiji Japan

Before the Meiji Empire, Japan didn’t have a standing militia, let alone a proper military and navy. For the past 200 years Japan relied on a couple hundred warrior knights known as samurai to protect the clan that they lived in. Under the Meiji government, these rival, warring clans were united, and a formal military was created. “With military defense, there must be military service.”(p.88) This quote explains the need for an army and, requests men of age to serve. It was extracted from the Military Conscription Ordinance. It also allowed commoners to wield weapons in battle. After a military was created, Japan was much more prosperous, and didn’t have to worry about invasion. When the time for war came, Japan demonstrated how much they had improved by winning both the Sino Japanese war and the Russo-Japanese war. With these victories, Japan was accepted as a world power.

Not only did Japan create a military, but the trade, and economic reforms laid the framework for the modernization of Japan. For the past 200 years (approximate duration of Tokugawa period) Japan was sealed off from the world. The port of Simoda, the only one that was open, was only open to Chinese and Dutch traders under heavy surveillance. One of the first things that the Meiji empire did, was sign the treaty of Edo (March 31 1854) with the U.S. with this, the ports of Simoda and Matsmai were opened with a promise of more. With trade thriving, Japan grew very wealthy, in fact, today, it is one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

Along with the economic reforms, Japan’s infrastructure took a large step forward toward modernization under the Meiji government. On March 31 1854, a collection of gifts were exchanged between the U.S. and Japan. One of the things that Japan received was a train, passenger car, and railroad tracks. Before this time, there weren’t even dirt roads that connected cities together. Now Japanese cities could communicate and do business with each other much more easily. The Meiji government also developed schools, which boys and girls of all ages and social status could attend. Soon new ports were built, train stations were built, and from then on the list of technological achievements is endless. New industries were established including textiles, papermaking, and more. There has never been such an exponential improvement in history.

Overall, Japan showed incredible advancements in its military, economy, and its interior under the Meiji period of reform. These advancements created the outline of what Japan would become in the future. The changes that took place in the Meiji Era may have damaged Japan’s culture, but these changes help make Japan what it is today.